The Most Unholy Alliances
by imahorsegirl
Summary: PostAang saves the world. Katara is with Aang under false pretenses. She tells him her true feelings and goes to the North Pole. There, she has new experiences, revelations, and adventures. ZK later on.
1. Katara's Confession

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

A/N: There will be Zutara later on, although this story mainly focuses on Katara's adventures in the Northern Water Tribe. If you are a fan of fluffy Kataang, DO NOT READ.

The two young people strolled through a small Earth Kingdom village. The boy was an airbender, with light skin and the telltale markings of an Airbending Master; the girl had a darker complexion and black hair, tied intricately into a braid. The boy finally spoke to the girl, saying, "I love you, Katara, more than anything else in the world." The girl smiled.

"I love you too..." As her voice faded away, she stared into the clear blue sky.

"You sound distracted. What's wrong?''

''What?" As she returned to reality's grasp, she turned to face the boy. "Oh, nothing.''

''You sure?'' He touched her arm, his eyes filled with concern.

''Yeah, it's just that I've been thinking about a lot of stuff since we got together.''

''Any doubts?'' His face split into a grin.

''Well...'' She clenched her teeth, preparing to break his heart. It was, quite possibly, the hardest thing she'd had to do in her fifteen years.

''Don't do this to me Katara, please don't.'' He seemed to sense her discomfort at the situation, and caressed her hand.

''I'm sorry, Aang. I know how you feel about me, but I just don't feel that way about you. Please try to understand. I want to be your friend and I want you to be mine. When you told me that you cared for me-''

"-Loved you." He interrupted. She continued without fail.

"-I was scared. I didn't love you back, but I knew you had been through so much already. I wanted you to be happy, and I was wrong. I see now that lying to you, even to make you happy, just made our situation worse. I'm sorry, Aang. I shouldn't have done this to you."

His eyes appeared opaque, and she stepped away in fear. ''How can this be happening to me? I mean, I save the earth, defeat Ozai, and can finally be with the woman I love, and now it's all falling to pieces. Why me?''

''Aang, you need to understand what I've been thinking the last week or so.'' The tears were now flowing freely from her eyes, and rolling to her chin.

''Okay, try me..."

Katara paused and took a breath. This just may have been more difficult than she had assumed it would be. "I'm trying to say, Aang, that you are only a friend to me. That is all you ever could be."

The young Avatar's eyes glowed a fierce blue as Katara backed away, slowly at first, but soon she broke into a fast run, perfected from months of trying to escape Fire Nation soldiers. Aang sprinted after her in quick pursuit, the arrows surrounding his limbs beginning to shine. He roared in an unearthly voice, "Why? Why? What have you done, Katara?"

She yelled, "Aang, stop! What are you doing?" He crouched to the ground, fearing that he would inflict great damage on the Earth Kingdom town, or on Katara. Attempting to calm himself with meditation techniques he had learned as a child, he opened his eyes to reveal that they no longer glowed, that his tattoos no longer shone. Katara knelt down next to Aang, comforting him although he no longer wanted her comfort. She murmured, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen this way. I'm sorry..."

They sat together, sobbing for hours. When night fell, Aang stood stoically.

"Katara," he started, "thank you for being honest with me. I know you just wanted me to be happy." He stopped to catch his breath, which was fading quickly from the raw emotion he was pouring into his speech. "I would like to be your friend, even after this, and I'm sorry for losing my temper-"

"-It's okay, really. After what I did to you, I deserve it."

"No, you don't." His voice was sharp, curt. "Don't ever think you deserve that."

Katara began to speak. Surely, this was the final blow to his heart, the information that just might send him over the edge. "Aang, there's something that I've been wanting to tell you for a while.''

He wearily responded, "What is it?"

Her eyes brimmed with tears, and her voice quivered. "I want to return to the Northern Water Tribe, so I'm going. Alone."


	2. Katara's Voyage

**A/N: **Thanks for reading, all of you who did. This is my first story, and I am collaborating with my sister, wickedelphie33, on it. Remember to press the little 'review' button at the bottom of the page! I'll give you a cookie!

**Disclaimer: **ATLA belongs to Nick, not me.

_Chapter Two- Katara's Voyage_

Aang whispered, "What?" He was petrified by this news.

Katara said, "I'm going to the North Pole. I want to help teach Waterbending and I have wanted to for a long time."

"But your life is here. Your brother's here… I'm here. I'm your friend, even if you don't want to be with me-"

She touched him on the shoulder gently, a gesture that made him recoil in pain. "I know you'll always be there for me. But I need to go. It's something I have to do, Aang."

Katara stood up to leave Aang behind, her life behind. She paused and said, "Maybe they've changed the rule about teaching girls." She smiled. "If they haven't, I will. You fulfilled your destiny as the Avatar. I believe this is mine… to teach Waterbending." She finally turned and walked away, Aang following her closely, not wanting to let her go.

----

She left the very next day, despite Aang's and Sokka's pleadings. Throughout the night, they'd presented her with various reasons to stay with them, but she was resolved to go. In the end, Sokka had finally caved, believing that she was safe with the Waterbenders of the Northern Tribe. Aang, however, was resilient, asking her every step of her way to remain with him. She finally turned to face him and Sokka, kissed their cheeks, and said goodbye. She'd said her private farewells to each earlier, before she prepared her lone canoe. Since they were in the northern sector of the Earth Kingdom, and a harbor was nearby, Katara planned to use her Waterbending to paddle her canoe more quickly and reach the North Pole in a matter of hours.

----

Katara stopped the vigorous Waterbending to eat and consult her map. From what she remembered of the landscape the last time she'd gone, she was about halfway there. Eagerly consuming a fig and sipping from a jug of water, she resumed the paddling, as well as bending the water around her. She smiled at thoughts of Sokka, Aang, Appa, Momo, and their past adventures together; as night fell, she focused even more on her Waterbending.

----

It was not until dawn the next morning that Katara reached the magnificent city of the Northern Water Tribe. Master Pakku had recently brought Kana, Katara's grandmother, to her ancestral home after helping to build a city in the South Pole similar to the one she now rowed through. Katara had visited the city, which was still in construction, after the war ended. She and Sokka were reunited with Kana, Pakku, Bato, the men of the Southern Tribe, and finally, their beloved father… _But now is not the time for memories, _Katara thought to herself. _This is a happy time, to look to the future._

_---- _

Katara was welcomed warmly by the chief of the Northern Tribe, the successor of the chief under whom she had fought at the Siege of the North. He informed her that Master Pakku was teaching Waterbending again, and since her extraordinary battle with him, he now accepted girls as his pupils. He directed her to the small house at which Pakku and Kana were staying, taking care of each other in their old age.

----

She quickly ascended the steps with a smile on her face. Katara hadn't felt this emotionally free in the longest time; her efforts had always been devoted to the caring and safety of others. Finally she'd be reunited with her dearly loved grandmother, whom she could always depend on.

The door opened, to reveal a grinning face.

"Gran- Gran!"


	3. Zuko's Decision

**A/N:** Hello again, lovely readers. I (or we, because I'm cowriting with my sister, wickedelphie33) have a brand-new chapter for you to enjoy, obviously. This one involves the reunion of Katara and Kana, as well as the introduction of everyone's favorite scarred prince (Zuko Mobbers: Yay!). Also, in this chapter, there is a reference to (A)Zula. Zuko will refer to her as "Azula," since it's more formal and Zuko would naturally speak coldly of her. On we go!

**Disclaimer:** If we owned it, well... I dunno. I can't come up with something good for this 'un.

_Chapter Three- Zuko's Decision_

"Katara!" Kana yelled joyfully, in an echo that rang throughout the homes of the Northern Water Tribe. "You've come to see me!" Enveloping her granddaughter in a bear hug, Kana escorted Katara into the home she'd lived in for a year now. As Katara was shown all of the simple knickknacks that her beloved Gran- Gran had brought from the South Pole, she felt happy for the first time in months; everything was quiet (with the exception of her grandmother's incessant chatter), relaxed. Katara felt _at home_ here.

It was a small house; obviously, it was small enough for just one person to live in. Katara smiled as Kana spun her around, saying, "And that's the grand tour!" As she finished, a loud knock on the door was heard. For some reason, even though Katara thought it was silly to try to distinguish a knocking sound, she knew it sounded familiar. The rap-tap-tapping was short, percussive, and resonant. As Kana raced to the door (Katara chuckled at the sight of her elderly grandmother running,) she followed her. The door opened, and Katara found herself looking into the face of a beaming Master Pakku.

----

"Fire Lord Zuko, an envoy from the Northern Water Tribe will be coming to the palace at the end of the day, and he wishes to discuss the upcoming armistice with you."

Zuko sighed and drummed his fingers against the hard wooden table. "Send him in when he arrives," he said to the servant boy, who promptly left. As soon as the door clicked shut, Zuko's head fell on the table. He thought to himself, _If I had known that being the successor to the last Fire Lord involved in the war would mean that I would be immersed in this many treaties and diplomats, I would have offered the task to Azula. _

His uncle Iroh, who had constantly offered him support since his boyhood, came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Iroh had served as the regent Fire Lord after Ozai's reign, until Zuko turned eighteen and came to the throne; he was now Zuko's chief advisor and confidante. He whispered, "Prince Zuko- I mean, Your Highness- they should be coming back any moment now."

Zuko sat up and laughed heartily. "Uncle- _Prince _Zuko?"

The old man shrugged. "Some habits are hard to break, I suppose."

Zuko smiled, and so did Iroh in reply. The sullen young man had grown into a fine ruler, under the tutelage of the finest philosophers and scholars in the Fire Nation since his return to his homeland. He had regained some of the true happiness that Iroh had first seen in his personality as a child. _No person should be without that happiness,_ he thought.

Zuko cocked his eyebrow; he said, "Is something the matter, Uncle?"

Iroh shook himself out of fantasy and stepped back as he heard footsteps; he murmured, "No, I was just thinking."

The child who had announced the arrival of the envoy before reentered the room, and after bowing, stated, "My Lord, the Northern Water Tribe's ship is caught in a storm off the islands once populated by the Air Nomads; the chief of the Northern Water Tribe asks that, if it is not too much trouble for you, to go with your esteemed advisor and negotiate the terms of the armistice personally."

Zuko was practically screaming at himself to go on the inside, but he remained composed in front of the servant. He paused and said, "Very well. I will go to the North Pole and meet with the chief of the Northern Water Tribe."


End file.
